The race for Illinois governor will be a battle between two deep-pocketed candidates who’ve already sunk more than $120 million combined into the contest, putting it on pace to become the costliest such campaign in U.S. history.
The 21st interviewed seven of the candidates running for Illinois governor ahead of the primary on March 20: Democratic candidates J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy, Sen. Daniel Biss, Bob Daiber, Tio Hardiman, and Dr. Robert Marshall, along with Gov. Rauner's Republican challenger, Rep. Jeanne Ives. The governor's office did not respond to our repeated requests for an interview.
On The 21st: Teen girls around the country are leading the charge for change in their communities. Now more than ever, publications like Teen Vogue and Rookie Mag are adapting to this new wave of "girls media." Plus, we get the latest on more legionnaires cases at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. Also, we hear from Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips about why he's tired of gun violence in movies. And, we continue our series of gubernatorial candidate interviews with Jeanne Ives.
Commentary: The governor's plan would rely on some iffy savings from shifting pensions costs to schools and universities and getting state workers to pay more for their health care.
Republican Governor Bruce Rauner likely considered the upcoming election while crafting the State of the State Address he gave Wednesday. There's a host of Democratic candidates vying to unseat him - and a single Republican who says she wants to get him out the way during the primary this March. They too are sticking to campaign points.
